Commentary by Michael Wade on Leadership, Ethics, Management, and Life

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Presidential Reading Lists

I am amused at the attention given in the media to presidential reading lists. Much is made of whether a President is reading fiction or non-fiction and which authors are catching the Chief Executive's eye and yet there is no report of whether five pages were read and then the book was thrown across the room.My take is: Cut them some slack. A President should be able to read any and all types of books. Eisenhower reportedly read a lot of westerns, but those reports also failed to mention that he was already well-grounded in political and ancient history. If reading westerns produces the type of savvy that Ike brought to most decisions, I'd suggest perpetually stocking White House book shelves with Louis L'Amour.